Is the 450 any good at highway speed ....... 70 to 85. Just drove my wifes Prius from Phoenix to San Diego and back and on flat highway at 70/75 the electric motor was going on and off the whole way. Going up through the mountains it almost drained the battery pack. If the 450H is the same I will go with the RX350. Also what is your real world mileage?

 

I am not the hybrid owner, but in my opinion the hybrids loose the advantage the faster they are driven.

 

All cars lose mileage at speeds over 65. No matter how sleek, the air is still gonna push back on it. Just physics.

My 450h gets over 30 at 65. At 75 my best guess is about 28. So all things relative, it's still gonna get better than the 350 plus you get extra features like the VDIM as standard plus the extra power from the electric motor. Total of 295 hp. And when you're in the city, you can get even better. When you coast or come to a stop the gas engine stops completely. A/C and power steering are electric, so no belts to change (ever). And the smooth tourque from the variable transmission is something you have to experience to believe. They have improved it so much you won't notice when the electric motors are powering the wheels or changing to charge the batteries.

Last Sunday I took it to Highlands NC and coming back down the mountain I had a good chance to use the sport function in the tranny to shift down. It worked perfectly.

You should look at it as a jump up for a few bucks rather than just paying more for a hybrid. Based on past 400h sales on the used market a good bit of it should come back to you as well.

 

I own both the 2010 Prius and the Rx450h and there is no comparison between those two cars except they are both hybrids. I just got back from a 800 mile trip in the Rx450h and I averaged 30 mpg going 70 mph with 4 people in the car and a few hundred pounds of luggage. Passing from 70mph to 80 mph was a breeze. Also I noticed that the Rx450 didn't drain the battery as quickly as the Prius. However I live in FL and I don't go up any real hills and I was only draining the battery purposely going 35 mph on two lane roads. Other than that, I never saw the battery move from full charge whenever I was on the highway. Test drive the 350 and the 450h and see which one you think has more power.

 

I just got back from driving the RX 450H and it was a lot better to drive then I thought it would be. I did use the freeway to see what kind of passing power it had and it was very good. Now the trouble with the 450h is their not building any with many options. The dealer said no led headlights yet, no Mark L audio yet. They are just building cars with limited options. How does the standard radio compare with the MARK L?

 

I have the standard radio but I am not a audiophille to notice the difference. Maybe someone else can comment. You could order the car you want but it will take about 12-14 weeks for delivery

 

i would stay away from the stock 9 speaker. if you get nav, you get navi, the speaker count turns to 12, which i hear good things about. ML system by comparison is 15 speakers

 

The dealer I was at said Lexus builds what they want then ships to the dealers. That made me think you couldn't order a car.

 

you can order a car, but for some odd reason dealers are hesitant to do so because they want to sell you a car today, not 3-4 months from now.

 

The impression I got from talking to the dealers is that they are afraid the buyers back out of the deal and they are stuck with the cars. It's probably more difficult to sell such cars because of specific options these buyers selected. They definitely could order the car though. Check with them if you're serious about ordering and don't mind the wait.

 

If I wanted to buy a RX350 I could find what I wanted very easy. If you can buy an RX350 optioned the way you want it why not the RX450H?

 

some dealers will spec order-others not--if you want a specific built vehicle do the legwork.

my wife gets 26 mpg overall with 450 when she drives--I get just under 29--so the driver does matter.

450 is great on highway--nice solid heavy car

12 speaker stereo is more than good enuf for us.

headlites great for us senior citizens

we are happy campers.

 

What headlights did you get? I'm not going to buy until I find the car I want.

 

LED lites--they are great--the entire car is great--except it is too complicated for me--a guy north of 60

fortunately my wife is a bit younger and figured it all out and loves the car.

when we go out I now prefer it to my BMW

 

Moved to hybrid forum